Snyder OKs speed limit increase on certain Michigan roads

Snyder signed a package of bills Thursday that will, among other things, raise the speed limit on certain roads to 75-miles per hour.

The legislation also calls for lower speed limits on certain gravel roads and allows school district superintendents to adjust when speed zones are in effect around the schools.

Speed limit increases on certain freeways will only happen after a speed safety study is done by the Michigan State Police and Michigan Department of Transportation.

Former representative and bill sponsor Bradford Jacobson said, “There’s a variety of different things, and overall we’re trying to encourage the use of scientific method rather than emotional method for setting the speed limits.”

Jeff Cranson is the Director of Communications for the Michigan Department of Transportation. He says although they likely will not be finished with the studies for several months, there are some areas that look ripe for a speed limit increase.

“The most logical candidates - and by no means have any decisions been made yet - are largely, you know, the rural, rural roads up north. North of the population centers where the heaviest traffic is,” Cranson said.

Cranson said their department remained neutral while the package of bills was making its way through the Legislature. Going forward, he said, safety is their number one concern.

“We have a zero deaths goal which sounds lofty and ambitious, but we have a lot of people really dedicated to having a road system that someday doesn’t allow for people dying in traffic crashes,” he said.

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Some rural freeways and highways in Michigan might see a speed limit increase. That’s if Governor Rick Snyder signs a package of bills headed for his desk.

The legislation would raise the speed limit on certain roads to 75-miles per hour. Other roads could get an increase to 65-miles-per hour.

Republican Senator Tom Casperson is chair of the Senate Transportation committee. He said part of the method for deciding which roads will see an increase is figuring out how fast people are already driving on those roads.

The state Senate is the next stop for a bill that would raise Michigan’s speed limit to 75 miles per hour on some roads.

The state House approved the legislation this past week.

The bill would require MDOT and the Michigan State Police to conduct speed studies with an eye toward increasing speed limits to 75 miles per hour on 600 miles of rural freeways. Speed limits could also rise on 900 miles of truck line highways, mainly in the Upper Peninsula.

A package of bills to allow speeds of up to 80 miles an hour on rural highways in Michigan has stalled in the state House. A key bill in the package came a few votes short, which stopped the rest of the bills because none can become law if they all aren’t passed.

Supporters like state Representative Brad Jacobsen say they’ll regroup and try again soon.

He says people are already traveling faster than the current 70 mile-an-hour limit.

State lawmakers say they’ve reached a deal to increase speed limits on some Michigan roadways.

On Tuesday, a state House panel is expected to vote on bills that could set speed limits on some highways as high as 75 miles-per-hour. The bipartisan bills would set speed limits based on studies that show how fast most drivers already travel.

Lawmakers were considering going as high as 80 miles-per-hour. But that plan stalled – in part due to safety concerns.